Electric guest-call



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. BENNBR. ELECTRIC GUEST GALL.

No. 481,919. Patented Aug. 30,1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. BENNER.

ELECTRIC GUEST GALL.

No. 481,919. Patented Aug.30,1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

FRANKLIN BENNER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRIC GUEST-CALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,919, dated August30, 1892.

Application tiled October 26,1891. Serial No. 409,808. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN BENNEE, of Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain Improvements inElectric Guest-Calls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to guest-calls for hotels, and especially toimprovements in that class of guest-calls in which the hands of theclock are employed in making electric connections.

The object of my invention is to simplify and cheapen the constructionof such devices and at the same time to render their use thoroughlyefficient and reliable.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combinationshereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front View of aguest-call embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectionthereof on the line 0c @o of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4. are enlarged detailviews showing the fire-alarm apparatus provided in connection with mydevice. Fig. 5 shows one of the contact segments or brackets employed onthe face of the clock. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of anannunciator in connection with several other parts of the guestcalls.

As shown in the drawings, the clock face or dial 2 and the clock 3 areof the ordinary construction.

4 and 5 represent the minute and hour hands, respectively. The front 6of the case is made of wood, so as to insulate the several parts. Theupper part of the guest-call is devoted to the advertising-spaces 7 andthe lower part to the number and socket plates. The upper sets of theseplates indicate the twelve hours of the day and the quarter-sectionsthereof. The plates 8 in the upper row indicate the even hours from oneto twelve, the next row 9 the first quarter or fifteen minutes, and therows of plates 10 and 11 the thirty and forty five minute sections,respectively. At the bottom of the board l arrange the plates 12, eachof which indicates a different room in the hotel. Arranged in a circlearound the clock-dial are the contact-segments 13, made in the form ofsmall brackets. (Shown clearlyin Fig. 5.) The upper ends 14 Of thesebrackets extend inward and are thick enough to form guides for thecontact-pins 15. The insulated ring is arranged to prevent the pullingout of the brackets. Vhen these pins are pushed down into positionscorresponding to the dotted position of Fig. 5, they come within thepath of the contact brush or spring 16, arranged on the hour-hand. Thesesegments are insulated from one another and each segment is representedon the inside of the guest-call by a smallbinding-post 17, thoroughlyinsulated from the others. A wire 18 or other electric connectionextends from each binding-post, representing a particular point or timeon the clock-dial 3, to abinding-post 19, belonging to a correspondingtime-plate 8, 9, 10, or 11 on the face of the guest-call. Thus it willbe seen that the pin 15 of a particular contact-segment being pushedin-as, for instance, the pin opposite VPf-a connection is made with theplate marked 6 in the upper row of the time-plates. From the frameworkof the clock a line 2O extends through a battery 21 to an electric bell22, situated inl a specified room of the hotel. Suppose this room tobeNo. 24,the circuit may be traced from the battery to the clock, fromthence through the hour-hand and the spring 1G to the pin six oclock,contact-segment 13', thence through the board to the binding-postthereof, and by the wire 18 to the plate No. 6 in the row of plates 8.From thence the circuit is tra-ced through the plug 23 and the loop-cord24- to a similar plug 25, inserted in one of the plug-sockets 26 of theroom-plate 24. Current passes thence through to the back of the boardand the plate 27 to the strand 23, leading to the bell 22 in the room No24. From the bell the circuit is completed through the wire 20 to thebattery 2l or through a ground connection, whereupon the bell will becaused to ring until by the movement of the hour-hand the spring 1G iscarried past the pin of the segment 13. If the pin of the segment nextin advance has been IOS pushed in also, the spring 16 will strike itwithin iifteen minutes after six, and a loopcord and plugs beingconnected with the 6.15 time-plate and the plate of a given room thecall-bell therein willbe rung at that time. In each of the plates orsmall disks on the board I provide four of the socket-holes 26, so thatif necessary four connections may be made from a single plate. As ausual thing, however, only a single plug is provided in connection witheach room-plate 12, and the end thereof is preferably permanentlysecured thereto, so that the cord may not be lost. The particularconstruction of these plates is shown best in Figs. 3 and 4, in which Ialso have a fire-alarm device common to all the rooms and by theoperation of which the bells in all the rooms may be caused to ringsimultaneously and continuously. In these figures the front wall is, forclearness, shown in full lines instead of being sectioned. The plates 12are fastened directly on the board 6, or, if desired, upon a sheet ofinsulating material 29 by screws 30, passing through the board andfastened in the back plates 27, from which the wires extend to theseveral call-bells.

For ringing all the call-bells at once I provide the sliding fire-alarmdevice consisting in the strip 32 of insulating material, preferablyhard rubber, and provided with sections 33, normally standing over theseveral sections 27 and practically forming a part thereof,beingpreferably insulated from all other parts. The spring 51 presses on thebar 32 and insures good contacts between the back plates and block 33.On the end of the bar 32 I secure the contact-spring 34, having a screw35, electrically connecting the same with the end section The link 36 ispivot-ally connected with the end of the bar 32 and the crank 37, whichextends through the board 6 and is provided with the handle 38, by meansof which the crank may be thrown over into the Fig. 4 position,therebybridging the sections 33 over the plates 27 and making a continuous pathfor the current and at the same time snapping the spring 34 under thestationary contactspring 39, connected with the binding-post 40, whichis in turn connected with the battery. Thus it will be seen that theclock is shortcircuited and a direct battery connection completedthrough all the lines and to all of the call-bells to sound the alarm.

One of the chief objections to guest-calls which depend upon theoperation of a clock is that the attendants allow the clock to run down,thereby, of course, rendering the whole system inactive. To overcomethis objection and compel attention, I provide the annunciator having adrop bearing a sign lVind the clock, or the like, as shown in Figs. 1and 7. This is adapted to show through an openingI in the board 6, andthe construction of the apparatus is that shown in Figs. 6 and 7, inwhich the bell 41 of Fig. 7 corresponds to the bell 41 of Fig. 2, whilethe annunciator is supposed to be contained in the box 43 of Fig. 2. Aseparate bell may be used in connection with this part of the apparatusor connections may be made with the main battery 2l. The drop isarranged to fall when the clock runs down. To operate the annunciator atjust this time, I provide the contact-bracket 44, insulated from therest of the clock and provided with several of the lugs 45, with one ortwo of which the clock-spring 46 when it is fully expanded makescontact, thereby completing the circuit through the frame of the clockto the bell, thence through battery, through the coils 47 of theannunciator, and back to the clock-frame. It is obvious that either inthis case or inthe other connections of the guest-call grounded circuitmight be employed instead of metallic. The annunciator best adapted formy use is shown in Fig. 6, where the electro-magnet, the armature, andthe drop-shutter are of the well-known types.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, in a guest-call, of a clock andan hour-hand for the same,provided with a contact brush or spring16,with contact-bracket segments 13 arranged about the dial of saidclock, movable pins 16, arranged in said bracket and adapted to bepushed through the same into the path of the end of said spring 16, saidsegments being insulated from one another, and means for connecting thesame with call-bells arranged in the several rooms of the building, asdescribed.

2. The combination, with the clock provided with the hour-hand havingthe contact-spring 16, of the contact-segments 13, having the form ofbrackets and provided with pins 16, binding-posts for said segments onthe back of theinsulating-board on which the same are placed, and meansfor preventing the removal of said pins from said brackets,substantially as and for the the purpose specified.

The combination, in a guest-call, of a clock having an hour-hand, withinsulated contact-segments arranged about the same and representing thevarious time-divisions of the clock, contact-pins slidably arrangedv insaid sections, a brush on said hour-hand to engage the same when pushedin, timeplates S, 9, 10, and 11, arranged upon the face of the call,plug-sockets therein, roomnumber plates arranged thereon, plugs andcords connected therewith, said plugs adapted to be placed in saidsockets, connection from said room-number plates to call-bells, andconnections between the time-plates and corresponding contact-segments,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the room-number IOO IIO

plate, of a bar 32, blocks 33, insularly ar- In testimony whereof I havehereunto set ranged thereon, back plates 27, screws 30, my hand this13th day of October, 1891. Connecting the same with said number-plates,means for holding said blocks or back plates FRANKLIN BENNER. 5 inContact, springs 34 and 39, said spring 34 connected with one of saidblocks, and means In presence offor moving said bar to bridge saidblocks and C. G. HAWLEY, plates, substantially as described. F. S. LYON.

